Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

 Title: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Published: February 5th, 2013 by Feiwel and Friends

 Note, if you have not read Cinder, this review contains spoilers for the 1^st book in the series. 

Scarlet’s grandmother gave her a gun and she’s not afraid to shoot it, she likens jumping off a train to jumping off a haystack, and she’s not afraid when she meets the mysterious (and dangerous?) Wolf. Scarlet and Wolf form an uneasy alliance to find her grandmother, and as the journey progresses, so does their relationship. But is Wolf really who he says he is? Or is it the ultimate betrayal?

Scarlet is an adorable, feisty character; however, she’s also hot-tempered and tends to react very quickly on whatever she feels at the moment. I really admired her fierce sense of loyalty to her grandmother and how she was willing to do whatever it took to get to her. I know everyone will have their own opinion, but my favorite character between the two is Cinder. My absolute favorite parts of this book were the chapters were we got to see Cinder. Cinder does get quite a few chapters in Scarlet (she first appears breaking out of prison) and she’s really become a stronger, more sarcastic, take-charge character since we last saw her and I just loved to read about her. We also get to see Cinder use her Lunar glamour and watch her question how right or wrong it is, trying to come to terms with her newfound ability; which I thought was a really interesting aspect to the story.

Oops, wrong princess.

I also loved how we get to see Iko come back, as she’s a character I just adore and how we get to see her again is just brilliant. We’re also introduced to Cadet, er, Captain Thorne who Cinder has to work with while they’re escaping in his spaceship he stole from the American Republic’s military (a spaceship he hardly knows how to fly, though Thorne’s very interested in the fact that he’s “famous” because he’s being shown on the news as an escaped convict). I enjoyed getting to see a lot of Cinder’s deadpan sarcasm come out while she was dealing with Thorne, I thought the character dynamic between the two was really fun to read about (no, don’t worry, it’s not a love triangle, I swear).

Cynical Cindy Says

I think one of my biggest disappointments about Scarlet was how ignorant Scarlet was as a character. In reading Cinder, we got to see Cinder go from not knowing who she really is and watch her discover the truth. So after going through the journey with Cinder, it felt like a letdown to go back to a character who really has no information or know anything that’s going on. Also, after the whole deal with Peony’s chip, I wish that plot aspect could’ve ended with something more special. I also wished there was more foreshadowing/hints in Scarlet, as that was something I really loved in Cinder.

I’m already excited to read Cress, I can’t believe I have to wait a whole year! For more of the characters you love, plus new ones you’re bound to adore, I’d definitely recommend reading Scarlet!

  Don’t forget to check out my review of Cinder and my post A Week of Little Red: From Books to Fashion in honor of Scarlet’s release.

4 out of 5 teacups

Stay tuned for more Fairy Tale February posts this month here in Readerland!